The Super Bowl

This past Sunday, January 22^nd 2012, two epic games of football took place choosing which two teams will be given the opportunity to play in the biggest football game in the world; the Super Bowl.  After watching the Giants and Patriots, two teams I don’t care for, win their games to join again on February 5^th, 2012 for the ultimate match up, I began to wonder why I will end up watching the game despite not having any interest in either team playing.  The name itself, the Super Bowl, is iconic in both its aesthetic appeal with the word super leading off the title signifying something great and in the laundry list of things it stands for in American culture.  It’s practical to say that the game is significant to those who are fans of the teams being played, but what about to the people who don’t care for either of the teams?  Do they still find the game as significant or are they simply watching to experience the nostalgia that comes with that big day? I can attest to all of those who don’t care for this year’s Super Bowl contenders.  I know I’m still going to watch the game, but I won’t be so tuned-in to the actual playing so much as I will be to the people I’ll be with, the food being served, and the commercials between TV timeouts and halftime.  I won’t be watching the game cheering for either team, but cheering for the event itself.  The game doesn’t mean as much to me as it might a fan of one of the teams, but it means enough to get together with a group of friends to celebrate it.  It’s interesting to me how the event doesn’t even have to necessarily engage fans of the teams to still receive one of the largest viewing audiences of a televised sporting event each year.  Even the people who refuse to watch football must feel some sense of missing out on something huge, right?  It’s really nothing we can’t do any other Sunday evening, but the fact that the game has become such a large event makes it a reason to get together for a fun-filled night.  What’s not to love about it?  You don’t even have to enjoy football or the teams to have a great time on Super Bowl Sunday.  All I know is that I’m already looking forward to the fresh guacamole, pizza, and laughs regardless of who wins the actual game.  February 5^th doesn’t mean football to me.  It means breaking my diet, laughing until it’s an ab workout, and creating memories.  What does it mean to you?     


Tom Peters